I never thought I would have this problem, I have always been a big eater. I've been counting calories for about 3 weeks now and some days I have been having a real STRUGGLE getting enough calories in. Like today I had eaten about 900 calories between breakfast and lunch and I was looking in the kitchen and not feeling hungry at all. I had to FORCE myself to eat dinner.
I did yup... I think your body adjusts to getting in all the extra fiber etc.. and you'll find it easier. I also got a lot of great suggestions here to getting in my full quota of calories (dried fruit, nuts, a double serving of something, add extra fat to your meal *healthy fats, etc)
Yes, it's totally normal when shifting to a more whole-foods diet. In my experience, it usually happens when someone goes TOO far...replacing too many full-fat or higher-calorie products with low/no-fat/super lean ones. I think finding a balance is important. For example, I'll have a lot of veggies, but I'll throw some olive oil on them, or use a bit of full-fat cheese, or maybe use a heavier protein instead of boneless, skinless chicken breast. You don't have to eat MORE, but you can eat things that are higher calorie for the volume than you're eating currently.
I think that planning your day ahead of time is important for this. You know about how much food you can eat in a day, so make your plan for the day to come, count up the calories, and see where you are. If you find that your plan is a little low, start adding in some healthy fats (olive oil, some avocado, peanut butter) or other accompaniments (a sprinkle of cheese, a splash of some sauce, whatever) that bring the calories up without adding a lot of volume.
You want to get this under control, because eating at too low a calorie level can really harm your metabolism in the long term. It's normal to have a day where you're just not hungry, and I don't force myself to eat on those days, but you don't want to make it a habit or have it happen many days in a row.
Okay that makes sense. And that's probably the problem, I have fat free yogurt, fat free cream cheese, low fat feta, etc. I'll probably replace the ones that are kinda yucky and go back to the regular kind, and start snacking a little bit more.
My main thing is that I have stopped getting hunger pangs. I don't know if this is normal or not. I never restricted how long I could eat, and I actually tended to have both a morning and afternoon snack. But after a while of eating less and not eating junk foods, I no longer get hunger pangs. It makes me think that the hunger pangs weren't from being hungry, but from having withdrawal from junk food. Now I have to remind myself to eat. I eat because I need to, but I get no warning bells about it, unless I go a long time without eating and I start to feel lightheaded. It's kind of weird to experience this, as I used to think of nothing but food, and now it seems like a chore to go eat when I happen to be in the middle of doing something. (Once I've started eating it's all too easy to continue, however. ) So now instead of eating every 3 hours, I tend to just eat my main meals and keep track of my calories to see if I'm getting enough. I think it's normal for this shift to happen. Just try to make sure you're eating enough?
Try adding some nuts to help you get some monounsaturated fats into your diet. Just 1 oz of high fat nuts is about 150 calories and they are good for you. Please don't eat too many!! Oh, peanut butter on a spoon is also high in monounsaturated fats.
Does anyone else have this problem?
) So now instead of eating every 3 hours, I tend to just eat my main meals and keep track of my calories to see if I'm getting enough. I think it's normal for this shift to happen. Just try to make sure you're eating enough?
